Surrogate Fatherhood
by thescientistwrangler
Summary: Hoffman knew all too well, that whenever Bernie was smiling that way...she was either reminiscing or contemplating something that was very likely to irritate him to no end. (Companion piece to 'Surrogate Motherhood')


**Title: **Surrogate Fatherhood

**Author: **The Scientist Wrangler

**Disclaimer: **I do not own this beautiful universe, Epic Games does. Everything Gears is belonging to them.

**Series: **Gears of War (Novels)

**Pairing: **Bernie/Hoffman, hinted Marcus/Anya.

**Warnings: **Crude language, violence, graphic suggestions. Naw… nothing _that_ bad. Though there will be swearing in this.

**Author Note: **This I my third or fourth Gears fic. This is the companion piece to another fic of mine called _**Surrogate Motherhood**_. I hope I do the series justice, and I would appreciate you all letting me know if I did. If you feel there's anything I could have done better please let me know. I kindly request critique, thank you very much!

"_**The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, is in its loyalty to each other."**_

**Mario Puzo**

The amused smirk on Bernie's face was extremely unnerving for Hoffman. Especially since it had been there for close to an hour already! Whatever it was, seemed to be one hell of a hilarious private fucking joke for her. She was busy fixing her braids, and he was watching her from his spot on the bed. Her eye flickered over to him from the excuse for a bathroom mirror, and the smirk grew wider. The damned woman was clearly waiting for him to take the bait. Ordinarily he'd have put up more of a fight, but after all of the nonsense occurring he didn't have the patience.

"What the hell is so god damned funny?" his voice wasn't nearly as curt as the words used. The smirk now became a small grin, as she finished off the braid she'd been working on. Mac, who was lying beside the bed, raised his head in sleepy curiosity. A small tendril of drool hung from the dogs lips, which earned a scowl from the colonel. Not that the hound dog really cared about Hoffman's general dislike for its habit of getting slobber everywhere.

Content with the nearly complete project of her corn rows, Bernie left the bathroom to scratch Mac behind the ears. A throaty noise of happiness could be heard from the mutt, as she took her sweet time in answering his question. Hoffman watched with an impatient look upon his face. Just as he was going inquire once more as to the object of her amusement, the Islander answered.

"We're like one big oddball family aren't we?" His confusion silently requested she be a bit more specific as to the 'we' she was referring to. Bernie took a spot beside him, sitting cross-legged upon the bed which had, she noticed, stray dog hairs. Mac was such a mischievous devil when he wanted to be.

"I was thinking about how much I've become the Mum for Delta. Can't help treating them like they're my kids. Marcus is the responsible eldest son," Hoffman couldn't exactly argue with that. Even with, once, bad blood between them…Fenix was the soldier he had come to depend on the most. Victor knew that Marcus always fought to complete the mission no matter what the cost. Reliable to a fault, but intelligent with tactics, as well as extremely loyal. He could certainly see where she'd come up with such a notion.

"Cole's the big-hearted second son," He didn't have quite as many personal interactions with Augustus Cole. Except, from the ones he did have Hoffman could agree. He often overheard other Gears gossiping over how the former thrashball star enjoyed teaching the town kids lessons. The Colonel also knew that Cole was, quite possibly, Bernie's favorite within Delta Squad. She often mentioned jokes or stories the soldier had told her. Mac, shifted to an upright positioned, so he could rest his massive head on Bernie's lap. She scratched the hound under the chin before continuing.

"Dom the empathetic middle son," To a fault, Hoffman knew that much was very accurate. Dominic Santiago had endured more brutal loses than any man his age. With the majority of mankind dead, that was saying something. So many years spent trying to find a wife that might as well have already been dead. Now all that was left was a shell of man, clinging to the last things keeping him alive. It was obvious that if Fenix wasn't still around…Santiago would have been long gone. There'd been whispers going around, that there was a chance that Dom and Sam Byrne might get together. That was never going to happen. It had taken years to get over Margaret, and it had only been luck that Bernie had still been alive.

"Baird the rebellious youngest son," Wasn't that a fucking fact! It was only through the data disc that he'd gotten to know the prickly bastard better. Once Hoffman had assumed the blonde was an asshole that enjoyed pissing other people off. Only to discover that Damon Baird wasn't such a bad fellow after all. Still a complete ass, but at least he was a total and utter genius. A trustworthy one on top of it all. Didn't make the barbed sarcastic comments any less snide, just easier to handle. Baird was a good kid that just didn't know how to go about handling other people. Couldn't hold that against him, social skills wasn't everyone's forte in life. Though it would certainly make things a whole lot easier for the bastard.

"Lastly Anya, the fire-cracker daughter-in-law." Victor couldn't help but smirk in response. It really was extremely obvious that Fenix and Stroud were an item. Once upon a time there would have been protocols being broken, but seeing as there wasn't a whole lot of choices these days. No one was going to raise a fuss over something so fucking ridiculous. Anya had turned from a wall-flower to a soldier. It'd been an impressive change to watch, since she had done a fantastic job. He refused to believe it was just in the genes, Stroud had always been meant for more than just a desk job. Now, at long last she wore the uniform alongside Delta Squad.

Mac made a rumbling sound as she moved to his ears again. That dog was absolutely spoiled by her. Hoffman noticed that the Bernie was still grinning in amusement. Apparently her little realization hadn't been as simple as that. Anyone could have realized that Delta was the favored group for Bernie. Hell, everyone with a brain knew that! Before he could have the chance to speak she interrupted,

"Which would thereby make you the dad of our little family." So THAT was what she found so friggen hilarious! Victor was tempted to role his eyes, it figured that would be the source of her amusement. Bernie had always liked to tease him about how he treated Anya like she was his long-lost daughter. He never thought he treated the girl any different from how he was with any of the other females he interacted with.

In regards to Delta Squad, they were his go to team. There wasn't another bunch of soldiers he trusted more, than those four men. Even with the rough patches, they followed through with whatever they were told. Among the four of them, they were able to handle any civilian, technological, biological, or physical obstacle they'd ever come across. They functioned best together, but could handle individual tasks as well. He wouldn't choose any other squad to handle business other then them. In a way, Bernie was right that they were like a close-knit family.

Hoffman couldn't even begin to imagine what that family photo would have looked like. Bernie smirking at a private joke, Baird sulking ominously with a grease stain on his collar, Dom all broody with a fake smile, Cole grinning from ear to ear trying to get Baird to join, Marcus being all awkwardly stoic with Anya smiling happily on his arm, and himself with firm scowl set on his face. Yeah… just one big happy family.

"Don't forget Dizzy the drunk uncle, and Sam the belligerent stepdaughter." Bernie chuckled, as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"You're catching on. See. Just one big bloody family. What would we do without each other?" He considered the question before answering with a sarcastic,

"Chase our tails until the lambent turn us into BBQ?" She laughed before patting him on the back.

" Too bleeding likely!" Bernie rose to her feet once more, Mac's tail wagged frantically. Such an attention-whore that dog was, impossible to love him and unable to hate as well. So long as it kept Bernie from getting blown to chunks by Glowies, then the beast was endurable. She crossed the room to check her clothing was in order, before calling Mac to join her. The hound trotted over happily, Hoffman watched her with an intrigued expression.

"Gonna take Mac fer a walk. He needs a bit of exercise, been a slow day." She gave Hoffman a quick peck on the cheek before heading out the door. As she left he called out to her,

"If Damon or Cole starts calling me anything other then Colonel Hoffman, I'll know who to blame!" Bernie gave him a cheeky smile before heading down the hall. Once he was alone, Victor stretched out his sore muscles before getting up. One bare foot landed straight into a puddle of dog drool. There was a long pause before a string of obscenities echoed throughout the hallways. It was shortly followed by Bernie's loud laughter.

**End**


End file.
